500 homes to get rooftop solar panels in Oman
The authority has launched a competitive process to select a solar PV system developer
The Authority for Public Services Regulation (APSR) has launched a competitive process to select a solar PV system developer for the purpose of procurement, installation, ownership, and operation of rooftop solar PV systems on selected residential premises.
So far over 1,500 applications have been received over mobile Apps to join the project and 500 homes will be selected in the first phase, the authority said.
In 2017 the authority launched its Sahim initiative which established a regulatory framework allowing households and businesses to install grid-connected PV systems.
“Building on this initiative and in line with Oman’s Vision 2040 and the government policy to achieve the wide-scale deployment of renewable energy, APSR is pleased to announce the launch of the first phase of its Sahim II Residential initiative,” the statement said.
The Sahim Residential Initiative is an initiative to drive the wide-scale deployment of grid-connected PV systems on residential premises throughout Oman. The authority believes that this initiative would deliver positive net benefits to residential customers, the electricity sector and the national economy as a whole.
The Sahim-II programme envisions the roll-out of small-scale solar PV systems on potentially up to 3,000 residential buildings in Muscat Governorate in the first phase.
Their installation, as well as operation and maintenance over the long-term agreement with the local distribution and supply company (Muscat Electricity Distribution Company), will be undertaken by a successful bidder with the financial and technological wherewithal to deliver such wide-scale deployments.